Month: February 2015

I hosted Alexander Stadnik, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the United States of America, during his visit to Minnesota at the UMN on 2/25/15. The visit included meetings with several of the science, agriculture, and engineering faculty to discuss areas of collaboration with Russian academic institutions. My conversations with Mr. Stadnik spanned some of my experiences in innovation working at Microsoft, innovation trends in the USA & globally, and my current work at the UMN studying innovation centers around the globe in efforts to build those innovation assets in Minnesota. Minnesota also has a fair sized Russian demographic and entrepreneurial community. There is interest in creating opportunities for Russian companies, researchers and students to work collaboratively with institutions and corporations in the United States and Minnesota directly. Since this meeting I have had the chance to meet directly with Russian representatives from their university and industry innovation centers.

Mr. Stadnik is currently based out of Washington D.C. representing trade relationships between Russian and the United States of America. You can learn more about the USA/RU trade relationship and events at the Russian Trade Representation site.